George Lucas is apparently tired of missing out on all the “Star Wars” parodies out there. Word came out a couple of days ago that LucasFilm is planning a “Star Wars”-based animated sitcom for TV.

I don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand, after the prequels fiasco, I now dread anything created by Lucas. Everything he touches turns to suck. (And he stubbornly still thinks Jar Jar Binks was a good idea!) On the other hand, Seth Green and Matthew Senreich have joined him on the project; they’re the creators of Adult Swim’s “Robot Chicken,” which has brilliantly spoofed “Star Wars” in the past, and Green’s also worked on the hilarious “Family Guy” “Star Wars” spoofs. Also on board is “Daily Show” writer Brendan Hay. So there’s some serious potential for laughs.

Clips like this give me hope (a new hope, even?):

Lucas said the show will have a “playful and irreverent” tone, which is certainly up the “Robot Chicken” alley. But will Lucas really let them run wild like they do on their own series? After seeing his heavy-handed work in the prequels, I’m not so sure.

Green says the new series won’t be a sketch comedy like “Robot Chicken,” but a more traditional character-driven narrative. He says in a press release:

“The ‘Star Wars’ universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. . . . What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing Empires?”

Hmmm, maybe it’ll be workplace comedy about a couple of Sandpeople who grunt and screech at each other. Or a series about a group of single bounty-hunter friends who sip coffee at Mos Eisely spaceport and their romantic travails. Or a family comedy about Wookies, with a hapless dad, wisecracking mom, a doofus son who pulls the arms off his friends and a teenage daughter who hopes to try out for “Galactic Idol” in front of head judge Jabba the Hutt. Oh, and they have wacky Jawas for neighbors. The possibilities are endless. But can they really pull it off and make a series that’s bold, creative and funny, while also satisfying the fanboys?

If anyone can pull it off (well, other than Seth McFarlane), it’s Green, who gave this bold statement to Variety: “Let us assure you this isn’t going to suck as much as you think it is.”

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